Eastbayri.com

The selectmen approved a Recreational Shellfishing Only area in The Let at their meeting on Jan. 23.

The selectmen voted 4-0, Craig Dutra absent, to allow only family and recreation permit holders to shellfish in the area.

A sign will be posted by Shellfish Constable Gary Sherman designating the area from Emma Tripp Landing northward about 1,000 feet between the marshes as open to recreational shellfishing only, according to a letter written by Mr. Sherman to the board.

Selectmen said that the sign would be sufficient to exclude commercial shellfishers based on a current town regulation that reads “no person shall shellfish or scallop in a closed area so plainly marked.” Any commercial permit holder found shellfishing in that area would incur a $200 fine, they said.

All other rules and regulations (available at www.westport-ma.com/shellfish), including the day and weekly catch limits, would remain the same, said Mr. Sherman.

There are still details to work out, however, said John Borden, Chairman of the Shellfishing Advisory Committee.

Open questions include “the amount of [shellfish] that would go in there” and from where they would come, he said.

Harvested quahogs from Fall River are relayed into three closed areas of the Westport River to purify, he said. In the fall, the state checks them and gives the town the OK to open them.

In addition to shellfish that live in The Let naturally, an amount of these quahogs might also be put in the recreational area, but those details are still in discussion, Mr. Borden said.

This rec-only designation would be the first for Westport.

“Right now everything is for everybody. There’s no exclusive use,” he said.

Only two aquaculture sites have been approved in the town, both of which are “a distance away from everything,” and would not be affected by the designation.

Mr. Sherman recently applied for seven grants stemming from the 2003 Buzzards Bay oil spill that are designated for recreational shellfishing activities.

“This designated area should help strengthen our application for the funding of the grants that have been submitted,” Mr. Sherman said.

This area in particular was chosen because of its dirt landing for kayak and canoe launching and accessibility for law enforcement surveillance.